Don't Call it a Deathwish
by LegendaryStarCat
Summary: Requested by Nova'sGirl. Falling for a superhero is a bad choice if you value your life. Good thing Nova's great at saving you. (Reagan is Nova'sGirl's OC)
1. Chapter 1

You might think being a super powered teenager with unlimited access to a secret government agency's weapon cache would be pretty amazing. And, I guess, some days it is. This is not one of those days.

But isn't that just another day in the life of Peter Parker? Aka your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, put in a dilly of a pickle. Ugh, I sound like Aunt May now.

Anyway, it all started when the Goblin was attacking New York City. Again.

Reagan pressed her head against the window of the apartment. Face mushed against the glass, she squinted her eyes, titling her forehead to get just the right angle.

"Hey, I think I can see Spider-Man!" She pressed her finger against the glass.

"Your leaving a smudge." Kaitlyn, her friend, said softly.

Reagan didn't turn her attention from the glass. "Does that even matter? It's just an apartment showing..." Her eyes widened, as Spider-Man seemed to be coming closer. "It's not like you live here."

"Yeah, but..." Kaitlyn crossed her arms slightly, making a concerned expression at Reagan's back. "Someone's going to have to clean it-"

She was cut off by Reagan jumping back from the window as a red and blue blur flashed by it, followed shortly by something green, moving inhumanly fast. "WOAH! Did you see that!? I bet Spidey's fighting the Green Goblin!"

"Yeah, or the Hulk..." Kaitlyn moved back from Reagan and the window, afraid. "Or any number of green villains..."

"Nuh uh, no way, totally the Goblin." Reagan nodded, positive. "How could Hulk be flying, anyway?"

Kaitlyn sighed and started to walk out of the room. "Hulk's not really a villain, anyway."

That's when everything exploded.

Gobby threw one too many pumpkin bombs, and the next thing I know, a building's on fire!

"Sheesh, I'm not getting paid for this kinda collateral damage!" I narrowly dodged another bomb, before thinking better of it, and shooting some webbing out to catch the little bugger. Once the vegetable-shaped grenade was secured, I flung it up into the air, where it exploded spectacularly, but left the buildings unharmed. "Time to call in the big guns!

"Nova," I spoke into my SHIELD webshooter, which also had a handy communication link with the rest of my team. "We've got a building on fire, innocents inside. Dunno how many, but they need out."

Nova's voice buzzed in my ear. "I got it. I was already on it, geeze."

"White Tiger, Iron Fist, Power Man...crowd and damage control?"

"Yup."

"Uh huh."

"You got it, dude."

If I weren't wearing a mask, you would be seeing me roll my eyes at Iron Fist's response.

"I'm going to deal with the Goblin. He's not gonna set NYC on fire on my watch."

"Too late for that." Nova pointed out, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Reagan blinked as the world blurred and burned around her. She sat up slowly, realizing she was laying on a pile of rubble.

"Wha-" she pulled her glasses off, trying to clean them on her shirt, but then realizing her shirt was charred. The building was on fire. And she was stuck.

She shot up, feeling light headed and faint. "Kaitlyn?" She looked around for her friend. "Kaitlyn?!" She stepped towards where the door had been, but a blaze roared up in the doorway, causing her to trip back into the rubble where she had woken up.

Reagan covered her face and took a deep breath before brushing her hair out of her eyes. She moved towards the edge of the building; the wall where the window had been was gone, probably now the pile of bricks that she had been on top of. She peaked her head out of the building, with the road some 20 stories down, and maybe five stories above, Spider-Man was dodging the Goblin's bombs and blows. She watched, vaguely stunned and unsure what she could do. She was stuck. She had to try and get out!

Then she heard a voice from behind her: "Too late for that."

She spun around, pressed against the edge of the caved in wall. "T-too late for what?"

In front of her, it seemed like he had just come through the flaming doorway, was a glowing blue figure, clad in black, with gold trim and a large red star on his helmet. It was a superhero. It was Nova. It was Nova!

"Well," his mouth turned down slightly. "I didn't mean for you to hear that bit, but...it's not too late for you?" He smirked slightly, "I'm here to save you!"

Reagan thought she might pass out again.


	2. Chapter 2

Reagan stared up at the glowing figure in front of her, eyes wide. She'd seen blurry footage of Nova (and Spider-man and White Tiger and Iron Fist and Power Man) on the Daily Bugle Network, with J. Jonah Jameson ranting in the background. She always tuned him out, sometimes even muting him and just watching the images of Nova shooting glowing blasts from his hands.

Nova was cool; he totally had something to do with space, but it was mysterious and exciting. Maybe he trained with a giant space raccoon and a talking flower?

"Are you okay with that?" Reagan snapped back to reality as Nova spoke. He smiled hesitantly under his mask.

"Um, w-what?" She sputtered, coughing a little from the smoke that surrounded them.

"Are you okay with...us...getting out of this burning building?"

Reagan nodded, still vaguely stunned. Nova stuck his hand out, palm up. Reagan stared at his hand for a moment before connecting the dots. She reached up and he took her hand, gripping it in his own. She felt an invisible, electric ripple when her skin connected with his leathery black glove.

If Nova felt the same shock, he didn't show it. He pulled her up, gently, but with a firm strength, definitely more than someone her age would normally have. Nova stood only a few inches taller than Reagan, and the tiny silver of skin she could see from under the helmet was a warm, friendly caramel color.

His lips smiled softly, and he brushed some char off her shoulder. "Let's get you out of here, then." He wrapped his arm around her waste as the blaze behind them flared up. "Woop, hold on!"

He held her tight, and suddenly she was in the air, flying past Spider-man and the Goblin, swirling past stories of the surrounding buildings, deaf to the sounds surrounding her, moving so fast, and yet, time felt frozen. Reagan's arms instinctively wrapped around Nova's neck, not so much out of fear as out of thrill.

_Spidey-Vision:_

"Hey watch it!"

Nova whizzed past me with some red haired chick in his arms. I appreciate that he was listening to me, the team leader, but he could try to avoid me while I was fighting my nemesis! (Also, thank god it wasn't MJ that he was holding on to so tightly.)

But I noticed that the building was still burning fiercely, and where I was was now basically the only option out for him and his rescuee. NYC's finest firemen were doing their best, but it was clearly hard to get the fire under control. Maybe it was time to finish this fight and give Nicky a call (Nick Fury, that is).

Nova landed on the ground, a safe distance away from the still raging flames, and made sure Reagan was steady on her own two feet. Their joyride had ended all too soon for her.

"You okay there?" His mouth curled down into what Reagan imagined was a worried frown.

She nodded mutely once again.

His tongue stuck out like he was thinking. "You should probably get checked out for a concussion, huh?" He began to float, glowing faint blue again. "What's your name?"

She finally opened her mouth and spoke. "Reagan. I'm Reagan. Nice to meet you."

He smiled. "Yeah, you too. I'm Nova. I mean, you probably know that. Anyway, hang on a sec, Reagan." He turned away, wooshing off while Reagan blinked herself back to existence.

Nova came back shortly, with a burly, mustachioed paramedic. "Reagan, this is Derek, he's gonna take care of you, okay?"

"O-okay," Reagan stuttered. "Thank you." She took Nova's arm briefly, and felt that tiny spark once more.

He smiled. "Stay safe. Don't go into any more burning buildings!" He jetted off before Reagan could respond.

It was good he didn't give her a chance to respond. She wasn't going to say 'I won't' anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

As Nova flew off, a girl a little older than Reagan with dark red hair ran up to her. "Hey, was that Nova?"

Reagan blinked while Derek bustled around her, checking vital signs and reflexes. "Um, yeah. Yeah it was. He...he saved me."

"He did? Woah, that's awesome." She tapped her pursed lips, musing for a second before reaching in her purse for a notepad and pen. "Say, hey, could I get the exclusive scoop?"

Reagan raised her eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Oh man, sorry, sorry. Hey, I'm MJ! I have this blog where I kinda report superhero-y events. This would be a huge scoop." She mumbled, "man, too bad I didn't get a pic of the rescue, though."

"Um...sure?" Derek gave Reagan a nod to let her know she checked out and was in good condition.

"Just see a doctor in a week, okay kid?" He smiled warmly and patted her back before leaving.

"Great!" MJ let out a highpitched squeal, which was suddenly matched by a louder, higher squeal.

"OMG Reagan!" A brown haired blur barreled into Reagan, who barely kept her balance. "Are you okay?! Kaitlyn got out, but we didn't see you, we were sooooo worried!"

Reagan smiled sympathetically at MJ, who looked shocked that someone had out-squeaked her, and then smiled genuinely at Maddie, whose arms were wrapped tight around Reagan. "I'm...I'm okay Maddie. Nova saved me."

Maddie's eyes glittered. "What? WOAH! No way. NO WAY! That is SO cool!"

Kaitlyn finally appeared in the settling dust of Maddie's quick appearance. "Yeah, cool except for the almost dying part." She hugged Reagan and Maddie both briefly, relieved.

"It was pretty amazing," Reagan whispered to Maddie, who nodded excitedly.

Kaitlyn sighed. "Please, no more bets. We've already had our fill of life and death situations for the day!"

The air around them rumbled and swirled as the SHIELD helecarrier appeared out of nowhere, about to douse the remains of the burning building.

"Woah!" MJ exclaimed. She turned to Reagan, "look, I've got to get this story, but here's my contact." She shoved a business card into Reagan's hand. "Please, let's get in touch. I'd love to do a post about Nova's daring rescue!"

Reagan nodded, tucking the card away. "Sure. Thanks."

With that, MJ ran off to get a better vantage of the gargantuan vehicle.

_Spidey-Vision:_

Right on time, good old Nicky saves the day!

Oh, but he totally hates that nickname. Maybe I should stop before I found out he's packing lasers behind that eye patch.


	4. Chapter 4

_Spidey-Vision:_

Ugh, going to school after an awesome night of amazing heroics is always a huge pain! But you know what they say...about power and being responsible.

So here we are, back at Midtown High...ugh!

Peter slapped Sam's back, part friendly, part competitive. "Hey, thanks for the save yesterday."

Sam shrugged like it was no big deal, though the way he held his head up said otherwise, "that's my job. Someone's gotta be good at it"

Peter rolled his eyes as they made their way down the hall. "Did you see MJ's blog?" The question was hesitant. Peter still didn't like the idea of Sam and MJ being friends ("and nothing more. Ever," MJ swore, rolling her eyes dramatically at Peter). "She got a pretty good picture of the helicarrier."

"Yeah, it was..." but Sam's thought trailed off as he saw a familiar head of warm red, curly hair. His eyebrows knit together. Was that...?

Peter broke his thoughts, "Earth to bucket-head, come in bucket-head." He waved his hand in front of Sam's face. Sam pushed it away with a little more force than he intended.

"I gotta go. I'll catch you later."

Before Peter could say a word, Sam disappeared into the hallway.

_Spidey-Vision:_

Man, talk about RUDE! What is that guy's problem?

Whatever, he was already a space cadet. If Sparky misses first period, it's no skin off my back!

Sam wove through the crowd chasing after a vision. Had he made it all up? New York City was huge, what were the chances that he ran into the same girl he saved only yester-

Sam smashed headfirst into an open locker door.

"Hey, watch where you're going, dork!" Flash Thompson slammed the locker shut. "Let's get out of here." He called out, and then stalked off with his jock friends, one of whom smiled and shrugged apologetically, mouthing a 'sorry, dude' at Sam.

Sam wanted to yell or grumble or shoot a beam of energy at Flash. What a jerk! What an absolute a-

"That looked like it hurt." A soft voice said sarcastically. Sam recognized it instantly and looked up. It was definitely the girl from yesterday. Reagan stood, hip cocked, where Flash had been before.

"Uh, yeah." Sam rubbed the back of his head blushing slightly.

"Need any help?" Reagan moved her books to one hand, offering her newly emptied hand to Sam.

"Naw, no, I've...I've got it." He pushed himself up off the floor, embarrassed. "Thanks, though."

She nodded and gave a small shrug. "It sucks having a locker next to Flash."

"I bet."

"But he's not totally terrible. He always has the best news about Spider-Man," Sam wilted. 'Oh, she must like him,' he thought. "And Nova. Nova is totally my favorite."

Sam turned beet red. "Y-yeah, he's alright."

She nodded. "Anyway, I need to get to class. Nice to, uh, run into you...meet you, I guess." She smiled.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Reagan." He turned on his heel and headed towards class before he embarrassed himself anymore.

Reagan froze in realization. "But I didn't tell him my name..."

_Spidy-Vision:_

Thank god school's over!

Nothin' beats some extracurricular web-swinging! The best part is flying by rooftops, looking for trouble, and-

Speaking of trouble, there's some now!

Spider-Man swooped down. "Hey guys, we've got something that looks like villain activities on 45th. Can someone check it out with me."

Nova's voice buzzed over his comm. "Villain how?"

"Like three dudes in bad spandex is how."

"I'm on my way."

"And, um, one girl who looks like she's about to get mugged. I think it's your friend from yesterday, Nova jerk."

"What?" Nova sounded shock. "Wait, grr, don't call me that! What?"

"Don't worry, I'll save her." Spidey's voice practically smirked at having thrown Nova off so much.

But Nova didn't have time to protest because Spider-Man had already swung into action, sweeping past the villains and scooping Reagan into his arms.

It was a high, but it wasn't the one that Reagan was looking for. Sure, she was in the air, but she was being jostled back and forth, Spidey switching hands to shoot out webs that carried them away from the band of F-list villains. It wasn't smooth and graceful and warm, like Nova had been.

"How'd you get in that predicament?" He yelled as they past honking New York traffic overhead.

"I dunno," Reagan sighed imperceptibly. "Wrong place at the wrong time, I guess."

That was a lie. A big fat lie.

On her way home from school, Reagan had seen three men in neon tights and figured that might be the perfect way to find Nova again. Unfortunately, her plans didn't go as smoothly as she intended. She didn't want to get cornered and almost mugged, but...well, that's basically exactly what happened. Luckily, she had been saved in the nick of time. Unluckily, it was not by the right hero.

The whole time, Reagan couldn't help but berate herself for the extremely stupid actions she did incredibly willingly.

Spider-Man deposited her on the sidewalk. "Stay out of trouble!" He seemed to smile as he nodded at her and swung away.

That was the worst kind of advice to give Reagan.


	5. Chapter 5

_Spidey-Vision:_

I don't mean to toot my own horn and all, but...I've got my fair share of fans!

(If I wore suspenders, this is where I would pull them out and snap 'em, all humble-braggy.)

Spider-fans are the best! So passionate! So enthusiastic! (Some of the girls are so cute!) But dang, do they so need protecting sometimes.

The next seven days were a blur of Reagan putting herself in compromising positions. And not the good kind of compromising, the bad kind. The kind where she was sniffing for costumed villains, flaming buildings, and police sirens.

It was pointedly easy to find trouble that attracted superheroes in New York City. In any other city, that might seem odd, but it didn't seem all that unusual for New York.

Reagan kept a small running tally of rescues:

When she ran after police sirens going into a car chase, White Tiger had pulled her out of the way, tossing her gruffly to the sidewalk before running after the cars on (literally) all fours.

She witnessed Power Man punching a pair of masked guys trying to rob a 7/11 she was at. He gave her a big, toothy grin and a nod as he ran off while the cops showed up.

Iron Fist happened to save her from a building falling down on her when a fight with the Wrecking Crew had gone wrong. He side stepped in front of her, his fist glowing, and punched the falling debris to sparkling dust. He turned to her before leaving and said something cryptic and vaguely Buddhist.

Some animal rights activist had released the lions in the zoo that she was at on the weekend by total happenstance. Spider-Man had swung down on his webbing, scooped her up once again, and deposited her on top of a tree. The firemen had to help her down an hour later.

And then Spider-Man had rescued her about four more times after that.

Not one rescue was from Nova.

Reagan was beginning to think this was hopeless.

_Spidey-Vision:_

Do you think...

I mean, it's hard to say, but would it be possible for somebody to put themselves in danger...just because they have a crush on you?

I mean, I find it hard to believe myself. Not even MJ has those kind of suicidal tendencies to get the "big scoop," but...

Well, don't tell the others, but I keep seeing this same girl. Cute, curly, light red hair, expressive eyes, glasses...I mean! Anyway, I keep seeing her in trouble. Like, yesterday, Danny saved her during a fight with the Wrecking Crew (more like Wrecking Poo! Okay, that wasn't a good pun, but honestly, my head is elsewhere right now). I saw her at the zoo two days ago, and on Thursday, she was stuck on the top of a building while I was in the middle of a roof top fight with Kraven. I think I've saved her, like, five or six times.

I feel like that's more than just a coinkydink.

Do you think...do you think she likes me?

Reagan was about to give up, in all honesty. If she couldn't get Nova to notice her, what was the point?

She'd been slacking on her homework; it hadn't effected her grades yet, but she knew it was bad. She was more interested in the police blotter in the local newspaper. She had even found an old HAM radio her neighbor had gotten rid of and converted it to pick up the radar for the nine-nine and a few other police stations.

So, as she walked home from Midtown High, she had pretty much resolved to stop chasing after superheroic (super cute) phantoms.

Hands in her pockets, her hand drooped with disappointment. She had really done it this time; waste time and effort, risked her life, for some dumb guy to notice her. She didn't even know who he actually was! What if he was really just some super short 30 year old in a silly costume? Or, what if Jameson was right, and he really was a criminal? Or..!

As her thoughts consumed her, she didn't notice the truck veering onto the sidewalk she skulked down. She did, however, notice a glowing burst of light, followed by a breath-stealing force that knocked the wind out of her and picked her up at the same time.

When she could finally suck in air, she shouted, "Nova!"

The silver of mouth that was showing smiled. "Yup, I gotcha."

She looked over his shoulder to see Spider-Man attempting to stop the semi by webbing it up between the buildings. She held on tight to Nova-excited, terrified, in total disbelief-clutching his shoulders.

The flight ended all too soon once again, Nova putting her down in a park near the road she was walking. Spidey swung over to join his teammate.

"I got it, Bug Breath, I didn't need your help." Nova said, his teeth gritting in a slight frown.

Spider-Man seemed to frown under his mask, and Reagan definitely sense tension between the two of them, "yeah, well, you're not the one she's looking for!"

Nova's mouth twisted into a confused expression. "What are you talking about?"

"She's been putting herself in for the past, like, week. It's obvious she's been trying to get me to rescue her!" Spidey emphasized the 'me' cockily.

Reagan stared in disbelief at the scene before her. At the same time both she and Nova shouted: "WHAT?"


	6. Chapter 6

Spidey-Vision:

Open mouth, insert foot!

Blech, never stick your superhero footie pajamas in your mouth; that stuff's been all over NYC!

"What? Huh? No!" Reagan sputtered. "I'm just your average, run-of-the-mill citizen, I...I mean, it's not bad that you've saved me in the past, but I wasn't look for YOU to-I mean...no...this isn't...never mind..." She trailed off, flustered.

"But you've obviously been putting yourself in dangerous positions! Clearly to be saved!" Spidey put his fists on his hips, a hint of accusation in his tone.

"N-no, it's just been bad luck!"

Nova was doing some mental math in his head, "seven plus times in as many days is definitely more than bad luck."

"Yeah," Spider-Man pointed a finger at Reagan, "it's not like Black Cat follows YOU around or anything!"

"Black Cat?" It sounded like Nova was raising an eyebrow.

"I-it doesn't matter!" Reagan insisted. "It really is just bad luck. Wrong place at the wrong time." Spider-Man put his hand over his mask, rubbing his face. "I'm serious! Total coincidence! At least you guys know you're good at saving people!"

Nova sighed. "She's got a point. We've at least helped..." He paused and turned to Reagan. "You're sure this wasn't intentional?"

"I swear it wasn't." She opted to leave at 'at least not this time.' Still, she was technically telling the truth.

"We should put a tracker on you or something," Spidey quipped.

At that, Reagan's mouth faltered somewhere between a frown and a pout.

"No offense." Nova said quietly to her. "He's a total idiot, anyway." He finished, speaking extra loud to make sure Spider-man could hear him.

"Hey! Am not. You're the one who's failing ma-"

Nova cut him off before he could say anything more incriminating. "Dude," he pointed to his mask. "Secret identity!"

"Oh, yeah right, it's not like she goes-"

"Dude!" Nova gritted his teeth, moving to punch Spider-man in the shoulder. Spidey dodged the punch easily, but something seemed to click in his head as he did.

"Oh man, she totally does, doesn't she?"

Reagan didn't know whether to speak up or continue spectating. "I go where now?"

Nova blushed, his mouth twisting in on itself. He and Spidey yelled "nothing!" at the same time.

Reagan took a step back and weighed her options. She could turn face and run, but that wouldn't really get her anywhere (other than away from them-which was kinda the opposite of what she wanted). She could try to distract them to get more information out of them, but they were both bristling with tenseness at this point, so who knew if that would work at all. Really, it seemed like her only good option was to wait it out.

Or...

Reagan brushed soft curls out of her face. "Look, I met this girl the other day, and she's been trying to get interviews with you guys or something...maybe, would you two be willing to...I mean, maybe it would make a good story for her...?" She trailed off awkwardly, unsure if the gambit would work.

"Okay, hang on a sec." Nova turned, facing her head on, "let me get this right: you want us," he waggled his finger between himself and Spidey. "To get interviewed? With you? By some girl you don't even know?"

Spider-man nudged him, whispering conspiratorily; Reagan just barely caught the words. "I think she's talking about MJ..."

Nova nodded and whispered something back that Reagan couldn't catch.

Nova turned back to her. "Okay, we'll do it. But just this once."

"And don't expect any more rescues," Spidey chimed in. "I mean, um, unless you're actually for real in danger."

Reagan nodded. "Okay, I'll make plans with MJ," she emphasized the name with a sly smirk, "is there some way I can contact you guys?"

"Um," Nova rubbed the back of his helmet. "Sure, here's," he pulled out a business card emblazoned with the SHIELD logo and scribbled something on the back of it. "My email." He handed it to Reagan, and his hand lingered for a moment before he pulled it back.

"Now stay out of trouble, you hear!" Did Spider-man just try to wink at her?

Spidey and Nova shot off in opposite directions, but the card in Reagan's hand was almost better than getting rescued by Nova.

Almost.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for bearing with me during the downtime! I plan to update more frequently now that my world has returned to a dull roar; if there's something you'd like to see, comment or PM me. I'm always up for new prompts and ideas! On with the story...!_

~~~

_**Spidey-Vision:**_

Hmm...MJ and the new girl? In one room? And if she also goes to Midtown...you better hope my secret identity doesn't get out!

Reagan had to put actual thought into this now.

Contacting MJ, who seemed nice enough, was still a fairly intimidating concept. This was a girl who chased cop cars and capes to get a good story (or, at least, that was the impression Reagan got from her). Given, MJ was no Gwen Stacy, one of Midtown's resident brainiac darlings, but still, she was a popular, imposing figure in the hallways of the school.

And so, when she approached Reagan instead of the other way around, Reagan was a little surprised.

"What's the scoop?" MJ chimed cheerfully from behind Reagan as she was about to close her locker door. Thrown off guard, Reagan jumped into the air, back from her locker (which slammed shut in the commotion) and into a crowd of students in the hall. She slipped and fell, knocking over two of the guys who had been behind her.

Ok, Reagan was more than a little surprised.

"Owww..." came a moan from beneath her that sounded like...Nova? Reagan shot up and looked down, only to see the same guy she had ran into a few days ago, Sam. "We've gotta stop meeting like this." Sam said, rubbing his head as Reagan offered him a hand to help him to his feet.

"Really?" Another familiar voice sassed. "That's the line you're going to use? Weak, dude!" Could it be...Spider-man?

MJ practically glowed as she shouted, "Petey, what are you doing here?"

Peter Parker pushed himself up off the floor with a playful frown. "Um, I go here EmmJay." He dragged out her initials, clearly trying to rib her.

She rolled her eyes, hands resting on her cocked hips. "Very funny, Parker. I meant in this hallway. It's for underclassmen, so I, you know, get why Sam is here, but you?"

Peter waved her away with a slightly guilty look, as Sam spoke up. "We just got distracted...we were talking about...um, video games." Sam was lying. And was clearly a terrible lair.

MJ wasn't buying it, but she also didn't make it obvious that she knew they had been skulking around Reagan's locker. "Well, it's good to see you guys, but I'm trying to chat with my new pal Reagan here!"

Reagan waved to them, and Sam smiled dopily and waved back.

"Why's that?" Peter asked.

"I hear tell she's got a great scoop about getting rescued by Nova, Spidey, all those superguys." She turned to Reagan, stage whispering conspiratorily, "although, I have to tell you, your friend Maddie is a bit of a blabbermouth when plied with the right treats." She winked with a friendly grin.

Reagan laughed and shook her head. Of course Maddie would spill the beans-and she had gone so out of her way to only tell a select few...really only Maddie and Kaitlyn (she had to, after she had been rescued in front of them twice), Isabella, Katie...and she guessed Andrew and his friend Sam had been at the lunch table at the time, too. "That sounds like Maddie."

"Aw, she's just looking out for you! Apparently you think Nova is super-" Reagan cut her off before she could finish, blushing madly about what she may or may not have said to Maddie and the rest of her friends. It didn't help that she kept thinking she was seeing-and hearing-Nova everywhere. She didn't want her crush outed in front of two guys she barely knew! (Even if they did seem nice...and kinda cute.)

Sam blushed and scratched his head while Peter rolled his eyes, looking a little irritated. "Yeah, that guy doesn't need his ego inflated anymore than it already is."

"As if you even know him." MJ countered, and Reagan noticed Sam shooting Peter a glare.

"Point is, you're trying to snake some sensationalism out of this poor girl." Peter said, defensively, as Sam touched Reagan's arm gently, pulling her to the side.

While Peter and MJ argued jovially, Sam spoke quietly, unable to hide the tinge of urgency in his voice. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Reagan shrugged slightly. "I mean, I don't see the harm in it?"

Sam nodded thoughtfully, "but, like...what's your goal?"

Reagan paused, surprised by the insight that had suddenly come out of Sam's mouth. What was her goal?

She wilted just slightly as she realized...

Her goal was to simply be around Nova.

So, what was she really trying to accomplish?


	8. Chapter 8

_**Spidey-vision:**_

_**Hmmmm...sounds like DRAMA! Good thing I'm not buckethead. He looks like he thinks he's getting the run around.**_

_**I dunno, though, she seems pretty sincere.**_

Reagan hadn't had an answer for Sam. She frowned and shrugged, her mouth a tight upside down 'v' in response to his question. He squinted at this expression, a single eyebrow quirked in confusion, or possibly curiosity.

Reagan didn't have any answer. She didn't know what her goal was. She was...infatuated with Nova. Maybe she wished and hoped that Nova was infatuated too. Actually thinking about it made it sound like some sort of ramshackle plot of a romantic comedy. And she definitely wasn't a romcom heroine; for one thing, she was too young. For another, most of those heroines didn't put themselves in dangerous positions just to meet some boy.

Reagan thought about it on the way to her first period geometry class. She thought about what she was trying to do...what she was trying to get out of Nova. What was she trying to prove? Finally, by her third period lunch break, she had determined what she needed to do.

She needed to apologize to Nova.

She sent him an email that afternoon during her study period in the library:

"To: Nova  
From: MarvelousReagan   
Subject: Can we meet?

Nova-

I have something I want to say. Can we meet? Tonight, 8 pm, 42nd Street by Bryant Park?

Thanks,  
Reagan"

Bryant Park seemed appropriate. It was near Time Square, where superheroes always seemed to prowl and get into spectacular, ruckus fights, but just far enough away that it might be peaceful. Reagan always like Bryant Park, this little oasis of peace in the middle of downtown Manhattan. It seemed like the perfect place to confess her-

The computer let out a small bling indicating she had received an email.

"That was quick," Reagan murmured to no one in particular.

"To: MarvelousReagan   
From: Nova  
Subject: RE: Can we meet?

Sure. How about by the Josephine Shaw fountain?"

Reagan typed back a quick reply to confirm the spot as the bell rang for the end of the day. She pressed 'send,' and logged off the computer, picking up her backpack and rushing straight into none other than Sam, who was so absorbed in grinning goofily at his cell phone, that he hadn't seen Reagan.

"Oof!" He exclaimed, pull back. "Oh man, sorry, I...Reagan?"

She smiled crookedly. "We really, really have to stop smashing into each other."

"Y-yeah!" He tucked his phone away quickly. "Sorry, I was...reading an email."

She shrugged good-naturedly. "It's fine. I totally get it."

He smiled and nodded. "Um, can I walk you out?"

"Sure," Reagan paused, "but I'm meeting with some friends right after school, so it will just be to the gates."

"That's fine." Sam's cheeks flushed slightly. "I just figured I needed to make it up to you for running you over all these times."

Reagan laughed and smiled, and they walked out of the school together.

It turned out Sam and Reagan had a lot in common. They both like sci-fi books, and were fascinated with space and space travel. Sam liked to cook and Reagan liked to try new foods. They were both really interested in superheroes, although Sam insisted he thought White Tiger was the coolest of the young capes, and not because she was a girl. "She just seems...super courageous and tough. And together. Like, it seems like the amulet takes a lot of control."

Of adult heroes, they both dug Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord. In fact, Sam gushed about Rocket, and seemed pretty blase when Reagan brought up Tony Stark and all his inventions.

Reagan was still thinking about her conversation with Sam as she made her way to the rose-gold fountain in Bryant park that evening. The early summer twilight gave a pink tint to everything, and the water spraying up from the domed fountain shimmered like liquid rose quartz.

It was only 7:30 when she arrived, but Nova was already there, leaning against the edge of the fountain in a desperate attempt to look casual. He was fiddling with the glowing lights on his costume, and snapped to attention when he heard Reagan's footsteps echo through the stone pathway of the park.

"H-hey." He greeted her, sounding more nervous and less confident than he had in previous meetings.

"Hi, I...um...thanks for meeting me."

"Yeah. No, uh, no reporter today?"

"Nope, just me."

He nodded, smiling a tiny bit under his helmet.

"Look," Reagan started. "First, I, uh, wanted to apologize."

As she was taking a breath, he interrupted her. "For?"

"For..." She looked down sheepishly. "I was actually putting myself in danger. Not the first time, but...sorta on purpose the times after." He didn't look surprised, so she continued. "I wanted to say I was sorry for being dumb and endangering you."

He shook his head a little. "You should be apologizing to yourself. I'm a superhero, I'm made to handle these things." He grinned, and then the glowing smile dropped a few watts. "Why did you do it."

Reagan steadied herself. "I did it because...because I wanted to see you. I wanted to get to know who you are. I mean, before the fire, you were totally my favorite superhero, but after you saved me...it felt different. And I know the concept of love at first sight is kinda messed up, but...when we touched, I felt something I'd never felt before and I just wanted to get to know you. Who you are, what you like. I mean, sure you seem pretty cute," he smirked at this, "but it's more than that. I want to know why you became a hero. What you do when you're not flying around saving the day. I want to know who you really are, inside."

Smirk aside, Nova seemed a bit stunned at this confession. "Wow. Reagan, I-"

But he was cut off by an explosion that rocked the ground, and a huge barrelling figure that came rocketing towards them.

Nova shot into actions. "It's the Abomination!" He shouted, pushing Reagan out of the grey masses trajectory. The Abomination plowed through Nova and the fountain, water and rubble flying everywhere. Captain Marvel soared through the air after him, shouting something into her helmet.

When the dust cleared, Reagan stood up, looking for Nova. She saw his helmet laying in the now askew fountain, water plinking off the gold metal. A few feet away, a crumpled male figure in cargo shorts and a green shirt lay discarded in the Abomination's wreckage.

Reagan stared slack-jawed at the boy before her.

"...Sam?"


	9. Chapter 9

For a split second, staring at Sam's fallen form, Reagan blindly wondering if she should grab his helmet. If it had transformed him from superhero into high school boy, maybe it could...

The second passed, and Reagan's better senses snapped into place. She kneeled by Sam, his already diminutive frame looking even smaller, surrounded by the Abomination's huge chunks of rubble. He was crumpled like a discarded note being passed in class. Reagan wasn't really sure what to do.

She vaguely recalled the first aid lessons they had one week during gym class. She picked up Sam's wrist gently, almost afraid to touch him, and massaged two fingers slow against the inside of his wrist. She felt his heartbeat pulsating against her fingertips, and let out a small sigh of relief. He was alive. That was good.

Reagan stood and self-consciously dusted off her knees. Now she really wasn't sure what to do. She got back down on the ground and held her head above his face. His breath came out soft, but steadily, warming her cheek, making her blush just slightly.

Of course, this was the moment that Sam's eyes fluttered open, and he reached up to...touch the top of his head. He slumped and jumped back from her, almost knocking Reagan off-balance. "Where's my helmet?!"

Reagan didn't know what to say, so she pointed to the fountain, where the water still tinkled musically off the metal.

Sam hunched over to the fountain, trying to hide his furiously blushing face. He picked up the helmet and gave it a few good shakes, splashing water on his t-shirt and onto the pavement below him. He was about to put the helmet on, when Reagan touched his arm, holding him for turning back into the superhero she had chased after for the past few weeks.

"Maybe we should talk about this?" Reagan offered quietly.

"Nobody is supposed to know." He growled softly, embarrassed.

"Well, does Spider-man know?" Sam pouted in response. "White Tiger?" He bit his lip. "And is she really your favorite hero?"

Sam turned bright red. "She's just a friend! I'm not full of myself enough to say that I'm my own favorite superhero!"

Reagan covered her mouth, holding in a snort.

Sam blushed harder. "Look, no civilians are supposed to know. That's the whole point of a secret identity." He brought the helmet down, clutching it to his chest. "It's supposed to be a secret..."

Reagan nodded, "but it's not anymore. I mean, not from me."

Sam frowned, "that's the problem."

"Don't tell me...you'll have to kill me now that I know?"

Sam looked outraged. "Um, I'm a hero! I'm not the flippin' Red Skull!"

Reagan couldn't stifle her laugh this time. "So what happens now, then?"

"I...I guess...I have to take you to SHIELD..."

She pumped her fists in glee. "No. Way!"

He looked down, "it's not a good thing, Reagan."

She paused, smile turning down slowly. "What do you mean?"

"They'll have to do, like, a mindwipe or something...I dunno, it's never happened to me before."

Reagan frowned. "That's messed up!" Sam didn't say anything, just looked down at the helmet, glowing dimly under the streetlights, in his arms. She got quiet. "I don't want to have to forget."

After a long, pregnant pause, Sam finally looked up, locking eyes with Reagan. "I don't want you to either."

That small jolt, same as when they first touch, shocked through Reagan again, and she felt the warm buzz of flying with Nova soak into her body.

They smiled briefly, awkwardly, at one another. Finally, Sam put his helmet on. A blinding flash surrounded him for a brief moment before Nova stood before Reagan, shimmering like the stars hiding above the lights of New York City. "I should go see if they need help with the Abomination."

Just before he took off, Reagan stopped him. "Hey Sam?" He looked over, a tinge of blush creeping out from beneath the edges of his helmet. Reagan smiled at him, "I can keep a secret."

As he took off into the sky, Reagan caught the whiff of his words. "I think you can..."


	10. Chapter 10

iSpidey-vision/i

Something's up with bucket-head. He's been acting mega weird since the Abomination apparently bowled him over. But hey, I guess everyone has their off days! ...Right?

hr

Sam was being distant. Ever since they met in the park, ever since Reagan found out who he really was, ever since he said she might have to...be forced to forget everything. He had been so hopeful that day; now he was...barely there.

When he smiled at her at lunch, it seemed hollow. Their conversations were missing that spark. He seemed distracted in the one class they had together (though Peter Parker assured her that Sam was always a mess in all his classes). Reagan was finally fed up with it, enough so that when she and Kaitlyn and Maddie sat down at their favorite froyo place after school, she brought it up as subtly as she could.

"Hey," she squinted an eye, "have you guys ever noticed, like, boys being weird?"

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow, but Maddie chimed in before she could speak. "Aren't boys ialways/i weird?"

Reagan laughed awkwardly, "I guess so..."

"Do you mean someone specific?" Kaitlyn leaned in, curious.

"Oh, you know who she means," Maddie smirked, and she and Kaitlyn both exclaimed. "Nova!"

Reagan reddened, frowning at the two of them as they giggled. "Come on, guys!"

"Oh, if not Nova, then...Spider-man?" Kaitlyn offered.

Reagan puffed her cheeks out while Maddie tried to stop laughing.

"No, she's been hanging out a lot with Sam, right?" Maddie asked.

"Other Sam?"

"No, Sam Sam. It's probably him."

"Oh, he is kinda a weirdo, though. I have World History with him. He's been, like, weirder than normal. I overheard him talking to that Ava girl about the 'morality of brainwashing' or something before class the other day. Bizzaro!"

Reagan swallowed awkwardly. "Really?"

Maddie shrugged. "Or they were talking about some video game? I wasn't really paying attention."

Reagan sighed and rolled her eyes.

Kaitlyn put a gentle hand on Reagan's shoulder, "if you think he's acting weird, you should just, you know, talk to him."

Reagan nodded, but the truth was, she was nervous. If they talked alone again, he might have to do something. Now that she knew his secret, she was putting both of them at risk way more.

She frowned, but was resolved to take action. "I guess I will."

hr

Before Reagan had a chance to text Sam, he had texted her.

Four simple words:

"We need to talk."

The words made her stomach twist on itself. In a way, it was way worse that he had reached out to her first; she felt out of control, but she responded.

"Sure."

He sent her an address, and she followed the directions to a small coffee shop and bakery, Shirley's Elegant Delights. Inside was dark, the walls a velvety red, the tables a deep mahogany. Heavy curtains encased the windows, offering only a slight peak into the outside world, and the lights were dimmed by thick colored glass. Reagan could barely spot Sam, but he was one of maybe only four people in the shop, tucked away in a corner booth in the back of the shop.

He waved, meekly gesturing her over to the seat across from him. As she slid into the booth, the balding waiter/barista, one of the four people in the shop, came over. He adjusted a pair of sunglasses, an odd choice in such a dark shop, and smiled warmly at her, "can I get you anything?"

Reagan watched Sam fiddle anxiously with his own paper cup. "Sure. A hot chocolate, please."

"You got it." The man headed behind the counter, busying himself behind the metal espresso machines that block Reagan and Sam's view of the prep area.

"So," Reagan didn't know where to start. "What are you drinking?"

Sam looked up, surprised, and maybe a little confused. "Coffee."

"That stuff'll stunt your growth." She smirked a little.

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, well too late for that."

She nodded. "Anyway, what did you want to-" the balding waiter came back, handing her a paper cup full of steaming hot chocolate and a plate with a big cookie on it. "Oh, I didn't..." she started to protest.

"It's on the house, kid." The waiter smiled and nodded to Sam a little before turning back to wipe down the counter.

She looked into the swirling brown in the cup and Sam started to talk. "I just wanted to apologize. I...I put a big burden on you. You shouldn't have to deal with my secrets..."

"It's not like you did it on purpose." She touched his hand, and briefly felt that same spark again.

"Yeah, but I've let you sit on it for, like, a week."

She shrugged and sipped from her drink. "It's not that big a deal, I can keep secrets."

"Reagan, you could be in danger!"

"I can handle myself. Nobody knows I know." She bit into the cookie, chewing thoughtfully. "So I'm not really at risk."

Sam looked down at his lap. "I'm really sorry, Reagan."

"You shouldn't be." Reagan blinked, her vision blurring a little. "There's no reason to apologize." She yawned.

Sam shook his head as Reagan rubbed her eyes blearily. "I'm sorry...for everything."

Reagan was going to protest about Sam's weird apologies, but before she could say anything, she felt her head tip forward and the world dissolve into black in front of her.

The last thing she saw was Sam leaping across the table to catch her head.

hr

In the darkness of sleep, she imagined a conversation between a boy and a man.

"Are you sure she's going to be okay, Phil?"

"It won't effect anything but her memories of him. Er, you."

The boy sounded sad. "Oh."

"It's for the best," the man assured. "I promise it's for the best."

hr

Reagan closed her textbook. She hadn't slept well the night before, so school had been a total fog that day. She was glad that it was over, and that she could take a break that night, since she didn't have a lot of homework.

She left the classroom, waving goodbye to Maddie and Kaitlyn and headed into the hallway to escape from school.

MJ, from a few grades ahead of her, approached Reagan enthusiastically. "Hey! Are we all set?"

Reagan was confused. She vaguely remembered meeting MJ a few weeks ago, when there was another big superhero fight in the city, but she didn't have any plans with MJ that she knew of. "All set for what?"

"Um, the interview with Nova? And you?"

"Nova?" Reagan looked at MJ confused. "I...I don't know anything about Nova. But he seems really cool." She smiled and shrugged. "Anyway, I have to go home."

She waved goodbye and skittered away before MJ could stop her. MJ turned to Sam, who had appeared at her side. "Well, that was weird."

Sam stared intently at his feet. "Yeah...weird..."

One day he would find the courage to tell her the truth on his own terms. But for now, he would just have to start all over. He pushed himself through the crowd, hoping to catch up with Reagan at the same time he was worried what he might say when he did.

That was when he slammed directly into Reagan.

"Ouch!" She shouted.

"Ah! Hey!"

"Hi."

"We have to stop meeting like this." Sam smiled, and offered his hand to the prone Reagan.

She took his hand and stood, but raised an eyebrow. "What?"


End file.
